Lloyd and Sullivan return to USWNT for games against South Korea

• by Paul Kennedy  @pkedit, Oct 11, 2017

Carli Lloyd, who is recovering from an ankle injury that kept her out of the September matches against New Zealand, and Stanford senior Andi Sullivan, who was sidelined with a knee injury suffered in November, have been recalled for the U.S. national team's matches against South Korea in New Orleans on Oct. 19 and Cary, N.C. on Oct 22.

U.S. coach Jill Ellis named 22 players for the games. They include seven players from NWSL finalists Portland and North Carolina, which meet in Saturday's championship game.

Three players -- Samantha Mewis, Christen Press and Megan Rapinoe -- are up for the NWSL's MVP award. Becky Sauerbrunn, Abby Dahlkemper and Casey Short are finalists for Defender of the Year and Alyssa Naeher is a nominee for Goalkeeper of the Year. Goalkeeper Jane Campbell and forward Mallory Pugh are up for Rookie of the Year.

Jill Ellis on South Korea: "South Korea is a team that is well positioned to qualify for the upcoming World Cup in France, a former world champion at the Under-17 level and a team that gave us a battle when we played them before the last World Cup. They fit perfectly into the mold of the kind of team we wanted to play this year and will be an excellent opponent for our group coming out of the NWSL season."

U.S. Women's National Team:
GOALKEEPERS (3): Jane Campbell (Houston Dash; 1/0), Ashlyn Harris (Orlando Pride; 13/0), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars; 20/0).
DEFENDERS (7): Abby Dahlkemper (NC Courage; 9/0), Julie Ertz (Chicago Red Stars; 53/11), Sofia Huerta (Chicago Red Stars; 1/0), Kelley O'Hara (Sky Blue FC; 101/2), Becky Sauerbrunn (FC Kansas City; 131/0), Casey Short (Chicago Red Stars; 15/0), Taylor Smith (NC Courage; 5/0).
MIDFIELDERS (7): Tobin Heath (Portland Thorns; 132/18), Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns; 39/4), Carli Lloyd (Houston Dash; 242/97), Allie Long (Portland Thorns; 31/5), Samantha Mewis (NC Courage; 30/5), Megan Rapinoe (Seattle Reign; 125/33), Andi Sullivan (Stanford Univ.; 4/0).
FORWARDS (5): Crystal Dunn (Chelsea/ENG; 55/22), Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride; 130/77), Christen Press (Chicago Red Stars; 92/43), Mallory Pugh (Washington Spirit; 28/6), Lynn Williams (NC Courage; 11/3).
In parentheses: caps and goals.